Serving the Steuben County 101 lakes area since 1857
Anytime Fitness makes move to expanded facility in refurbished building
Weather Cloud and rainy today with a high of 39. Low tonight 26. Page A6
Page A2 SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 2014
Angola, Indiana
GOOD MORNING Scam seeks money to help grandchild LAGRANGE — LaGrange County Sheriff Terry Martin is warning local residents of a telephone scam that is making the rounds in northeast Indiana. Martin said Friday that citizens report the scam involves receiving a phone call from someone claiming to be child or grandchild who is in jail and needs bail money. The person on the phone asks the potential victim to get a money gram at Walmart or Western Union and send it to an address. “This is not legit,� Martin said. “If you receive a call like this, verify who you are talking to by asking personal questions that your relative would know (siblings, address, phone number, etc.). Also, if possible, obtain a name and call-back number of the person calling. Do not send money to someone that you do not know. If you receive a phone call like this, please contact the LaGrange County Sheriff’s Department at 463-7491. A DeKalb County resident also reported a similar scam in which the caller posed as a grandchild who had been in a wreck and needed money.
Out with the old GED has been replaced with new program BY DENNIS NARTKER dnartker@kpcmedia.com
KENDALLVILLE — Out with the old and in with the new. The General Education Development exam (GED), introduced in 1942, has been replaced by the Indiana High School Equivalency Diploma. The changeover began at the start of this month, and GED instruction providers and testing centers including IMPACT Institute, formerly Four County Vocational Cooperative, have been preparing for the new assessment. Stephanie Ross, Impact Institute’s adult education coordinator, said the institute has been proactive since institute officials learned the GED would end. Instructors have attended
professional development sessions about preparing students for the new test. IMPACT Institute, a vocational cooperative based in Kendallville, offers adult education programs in northeast Indiana as well as vocational programs to students from 11 school districts in Noble, DeKalb, LaGrange and Steuben counties. Students enrolled in GED programs who failed to complete the test by the end of 2013 must start over with the new equivalency diploma. IMPACT marketed its GED program and offered free GED classes encouraging those thinking about the GED to enroll and get tested by Dec. 31. Enrollment is now open at IMPACT SEE TEST, PAGE A6
DENNIS NARTKER
IMPACT Institute in Kendallville provides instruction and testing for the new Indiana High School Equivalency Diploma that has replaced the General Education Development exam that’s been in place since 1942.
School closing a week out of the norm
public parking for the downtown. In designating Hickman as the city’s purchasing agent for the property, two appraisals by licensed brokers would be required to determine the fair market value. Those appraisals would then be forwarded to the council. Hickman would then be authorized to purchase the property for no more than the average of the two appraisals. The official Steuben County tax website says the property — four lots — has a total value of $243,400.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Jamie Boe and her three children have been stuck inside their suburban Indianapolis home with cabin fever, because first the snow and then subzero temperatures forced the school district to cancel classes. Five days after their community of Noblesville was buried in nearly a foot of snow, and with temperatures rebounding into the 40s, the Boe children still weren’t back in school Friday. And the two-week holiday break that had stretched to three was wearing thin. “I personally have probably been less patient with all of my kids,� Boe said. “My kids love school, and they have been begging to go back.� Poorly plowed roads still clogged with snow and ice are to blame for the extended break, along with snowbanks so high they are obscuring bus stops and making it hard for buses to navigate their routes. The situation is frustrating parents and school officials, who must decide how to compensate for the lost days in the face of the state’s 180-school-day
SEE PROJECT, PAGE A6
SEE SCHOOL’S OUT, PAGE A6
MIKE MARTURELLO
This vacant Wendy’s restaurant is the site of a possible public parking and restroom facility. Angola is working on a federal grant to buy and
Coming Sunday
Best Thing I Ever Ate
Ever had the tenderloin at Ambrosia Bella? Or the Cinnamon Caramel Donuts at Rise ’N Roll Bakery? Read some of KPC staff’s favorite local dishes on Sunday.
Clip and Save Find $90 in coupon savings in Sunday’s newspaper.
Contact Us • The Herald Republican
75 cents
kpcnews.com
raze the building in order to develop a visitorfriendly facility as well as make other improvements between the Public Square and the site.
Angola makes movement on possible downtown restrooms BY JENNIFER DECKER jecker@kpcmedia.com
ANGOLA — The Angola Common Council designated Mayor Dick Hickman as the purchasing agent for the site of the old Wendy’s restaurant, 206 N. Wayne St. The designation came at Thursday’s rescheduled council meeting. The city is waiting for a determination on a $583,000 federal grant toward $729,000 in pedestrian improvements, public restrooms and parking project at the site just north of the Public Square.
The city is interested in buying the four-parcel site for the project, along with making sidewalk improvements north from the Public Square on North Wayne Street. The project was listed in the Downtown 20/20 plan five years ago as a desired public restroom/ travel center and parking facility. The former Wendy’s restaurant has sat vacant since 2002 at the corner of East Gilmore and North Wayne streets. If the city was to buy the site, it would would tear down the existing building to build a restroom and travel center with
45 S. Public Square Angola, IN 46703 Phone: (260) 665-3117 Fax: (260) 665-2322 Classifieds: (toll free) (877) 791-7877 Circulation: (800) 717-4679
Index • Classified.............................................. B7-B8 Life.................................................................A3 Obituaries.....................................................A4 Opinion ........................................................B5 Sports.................................................... B1-B3 Weather........................................................A6 TV/Comics ..................................................B6 Vol. 157 No. 10
Weak jobs report puzzles economists WASHINGTON (AP) — It came as a shock: U.S. employers added just 74,000 jobs in December, far fewer than anyone expected. This from an economy that had been adding nearly three times as many for four straight months — a key reason the Federal Reserve decided last month to slow its economic stimulus. So what happened in December? Economists struggled for explanations: Unusually cold weather. A statistical quirk. A temporary halt in steady job growth. Blurring the picture, a wave
of Americans stopped looking for work, meaning they were no longer counted as unemployed. Their exodus cut the unemployment rate from 7 percent to 6.7 percent — its lowest point in more than five years. Friday’s weak report from the Labor Department was particularly surprising because it followed a flurry of data that had pointed to a robust economy: U.S. companies are selling record levels of goods overseas. Americans are spending more on big purchases like cars and appliances. Layoffs have dwindled. Consumer confidence is SEE JOBS, PAGE A6
AP
In this Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013, file photo, Luis Mendez, 23, left, and Maurice Mike, 23, wait in line at a job fair held by the Miami Marlins, at Marlins Park in Miami. Employers added a scant 74,000 jobs in December after averaging 214,000 in the previous four months.
$100 SHOPPING SPREE Drawing Sat., Jan. 18
: 'XSRQW DW /LPD 5G ‡ )RUW :D\QH
0RQ :HG )UL 7XHV 7KXUV 6DW
*Some items excluded
St. Patrick’s Day in January Sale! Special Lucky Green Discounts! NOW SAVE
50
% up to
80
% OFF*